1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,120 Speaker 1: They see him as a project. They see him as 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: a guy that is not going to be a finished 3 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: product right away, someone who is going to develop as 4 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:08,320 Speaker 1: the season goes on. 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 2: It's the inside scoop with Ken Rosenthal. Let's get right 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 2: to biz. We did have a little bit of biss 7 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 2: last night, Ken, And I know Atlanta Braves fans are 8 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 2: actually really excited when they saw your report about Craig 9 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 2: Kimberl returning to the Braves. And I know there's a 10 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 2: little bit of a road ahead for him to actually 11 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 2: make the squad, But what did you think of the move? 12 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,480 Speaker 2: And you know, are we at this point where someone 13 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 2: like him who had a bad finish to the season 14 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 2: needs to sign technically a minor league deal late in 15 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 2: his career. 16 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: Yes, we're seeing that with a number of players right now. 17 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: It's not going to be all. We still might see 18 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: some major league deals. But Kimbrel is a really interesting 19 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: one because this, of course is full circle for him 20 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: started his career with the Atlanta Braves, willing to go there, 21 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: go back there, go to the minors for a little 22 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: bit and see where it goes. And the Braves also 23 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: signed James McCann to a non roster invite this week. 24 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 3: He's in the same situation. 25 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: We'll go to TRIPAA and I don't know where Kimberl 26 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: is going to be in a month, but it's going 27 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: to be an interesting thing to track him and see 28 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: if he can ultimately help that bullpen, which for the 29 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: Braves is going to be maybe a work in progress 30 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,839 Speaker 1: to some degree. They've got Aglacius of course at the back. 31 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: I'm kind of intrigued by where they are right now, Scott, 32 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: especially with Strider pitching so well in his debut for 33 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: the spring the other day, and Smince Chalver also looking 34 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: really good. 35 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:38,479 Speaker 4: Hey, Ken, I want to stay right there. And when 36 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 4: you talk about Spencer Strider and how dominant he looked 37 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 4: at his debut, how difficult have you heard for it 38 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 4: that it might be for the Braves to not rush 39 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 4: that process when he came out, it looks so dominant, 40 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 4: so good. Where are they with, you know, kind of 41 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 4: slowly bringing him along even though he looks like he's ready. 42 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: Now, Cam, You're right, that was a revelation. They didn't 43 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: expect that, So clearly they're going to follow a process 44 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: and they're going to try to do this on a 45 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: proper course, but at the same time, if the signals 46 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: he's giving are I'm ready to go, they can maybe 47 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: accelerate that a little bit. I don't know exactly how 48 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: they're going to approach it. It's difficult, and you guys 49 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: know this as players. When a player feels he's ready 50 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: to go, he doesn't want to be held back. And 51 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: at the same time, there is a procedure you follow 52 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: in recoveries from surgeries, and he's kind of on track 53 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: with that. So they're not going to be doing anything stupid, 54 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: and they've got a coun You're kind of in a 55 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: similar situation. Of course. I don't know when we can 56 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: expect to see him full go, but Spencer Strider by 57 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: early May I would expect. No latest is going to 58 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: be a factor for the Braves. 59 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 5: Let's stay in the East and talk about the marlins 60 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 5: lack of spending. Could there actually we hear the word 61 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,639 Speaker 5: grievance that you wrote in your article. Could there actually 62 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 5: be some kickback from this, or even better, could there 63 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 5: actually be like change throughout the league based on what 64 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 5: the Marlins are doing? 65 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: Eric? What I wrote about was something Evandralic and I 66 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: wrote about a couple of months ago with regard to 67 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: the A's and that is when you're getting revenue sharing, 68 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: your luxury tax payroll has to end up end up 69 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: at the end of the season one and a half 70 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: times your amount of revenue sharing received. So this isn't 71 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: necessarily an urgent situation for the Marlins right now. But 72 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: they're an estimated twenty million below where they should be. 73 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: I don't see them adding twenty million during the season. 74 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: In fact, they're gonna trade most likely Sandi al Contra, 75 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: and at that point they'll be even further away from 76 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: this threshold that is imaginary right now, but. 77 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 3: It is real by the end of the season. 78 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: So yes, could it lead to a grievance, Absolutely it could, 79 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: And where the grievance ends up good question. We never 80 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: seem to hear about the outcomes of these things. Could 81 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: it lead to change, that's perhaps the bigger question right 82 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: And you've heard a lot of talk about a salary floor, 83 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: and the owners say, well, we're not going to do 84 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: a salary floor without a salary cap, understandable. My contention 85 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: on that is that they already have a soft cap 86 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: with the luxury tax system in place. Why not put 87 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: a similar system with penalties and floating numbers at the 88 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: bottom of the pay scale if you're not going to 89 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: do a salary cap, and I don't believe the sport 90 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,359 Speaker 1: is going to do that, at least not without a 91 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: major fight. So this never seems to get discussed. Maybe 92 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: I should write about it, But why not put the 93 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: same series of mechanisms in place at the bottom that 94 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,919 Speaker 1: you have at the top. You go below a certain level, 95 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: you get penalized. You go beyond a certain level or 96 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,039 Speaker 1: below a level beyond that, you get penalized even more. 97 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 1: To me, that seems like a logical way to go. 98 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: If the current system remains intact. 99 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 5: Teams not trying and get fined, and teams that are trying, 100 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 5: they get fined. Okay, I like that. I like if 101 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 5: you mean. 102 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: Eric, it's either that or a cap going to got 103 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: in place. 104 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 5: You know, we got to increase the competitive part of it. 105 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 5: That that's all that players are looking for, and I 106 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 5: think that's all fans are looking for. Competition, be competitive. 107 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 5: It's a monopolistic league nobody else, and so when you 108 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 5: have that, you have to keep the integrity of the 109 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 5: competition totally. Play when you play in his game, as 110 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 5: long as Max Scherzer has you're going to run into 111 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 5: people that cross paths in your life. Can you tell 112 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 5: us where Jake Berger and Max Scherzer's Paz cross. 113 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 3: Well, they didn't. 114 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: Really cross, but Jake's Burger's sorry. Jake Berger's mom's path 115 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,479 Speaker 1: crossed with Max Scherzer. She was his sixth grade social 116 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: studies teachers. She also had him for a rotation of 117 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: English as well. And Max actually told me about this 118 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: this spring and I was immediately intrigued and I was like, Wow, 119 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: let's talk about this. And he's like, I don't really 120 00:05:57,800 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: want to talk about this, just. 121 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 3: Say it's but I feel like I'm old. 122 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: And that was all he said. 123 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 3: For Max. 124 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 1: That's pretty limited in a common So I did pursue it, 125 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:10,479 Speaker 1: and I talked to Jake Berger, I talked to Jake 126 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: Berger's mom. I talked to Dane Dunning, who kind of 127 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: was Max's teammate and Jake's former teammate. 128 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 3: With the White Sox. 129 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: And it was a fun story to do. Shannenberger, Jake's 130 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: mom was kind of excited just reminiscing about Max as 131 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: a twelve year old. He was a good kid, She said, 132 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: he was really smart, really athletic. Obviously, he attracted attention 133 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: even back then with his two different color eyes. So 134 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: just a fun little story to do today, and I 135 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: hope people read it and enjoy it. 136 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 4: Can I know you don't sleep much, and I'm sure 137 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:45,040 Speaker 4: your phone has been going crazy watching this Tokyo series. 138 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 4: Any word on Roki Sazaki today? I mean, I know 139 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 4: he had a little inning where he struggled a little bit. 140 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 4: I thought he might have just nibbled a little bit much, 141 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 4: but the stuff was there. The stuff was electric. What 142 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,840 Speaker 4: are you hearing about how excited they are about his 143 00:06:57,920 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 4: debut in Tokyo. 144 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: Excited And I can't speak to the reactions necessarily to 145 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: what happened today, but in general, they see him as 146 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: a project. They see him as a guy that is 147 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: not going to be a finished product right away, someone 148 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: who is going to develop as the season goes on 149 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: and as his career goes on. Clearly, as you mentioned, 150 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: the rough stuff is there. The split is pretty incredible. 151 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: So it's a matter of acclimating him to the major 152 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: league game, to the American culture, the North American culture, 153 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: and of course getting to the point where he can 154 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: be the kind of picture that everyone projects him to be. 155 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: He showed flashes of that today, There's no question about it, 156 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: and he's going to be good from every indication, but 157 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: he's not again a finished product, and it's going to 158 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: take some work to get him to the point where 159 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: they want him to be. Remember, he's only twenty three, 160 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: he hasn't pitched all that much and there's a full 161 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 1: career ahead of him. 162 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 2: Ft fam, I hope you have as much confident as 163 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 2: Penelope right now, who is an avid Spot and Tango fan, Okay, 164 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 2: And she uses the code foul crats because this is 165 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 2: a personalized dog food subscription service that prevents you, of 166 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 2: course from going to the store to pick up the food, 167 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 2: and she just gets the highest quality unkibble that is 168 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 2: what they're known for. 169 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 3: And I know you love the quiz part of it too. 170 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 5: It's a super quick quiz, but it lets you give 171 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 5: them the information and they tailor it to what is 172 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 5: needed based on their age, size, activity level, all things 173 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 5: that are customed for each and every one of your dogs. 174 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, human great ingredients in that unkibble USDA meat, fruits 175 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 2: and veggies that are approved. There no artificial stuff, no preservatives. 176 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,839 Speaker 2: They've got the exclusive deal for the ft fan for 177 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 2: unlimited time. Go to spotan tango dot com slash foul. 178 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 2: Use code foul to get fifty percent off your first order. 179 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,559 Speaker 2: That's spotan tango dot com slash foul. It's spotan tango 180 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 2: dot com slat foul quote foul. 181 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 4: When you talk about that project, can't today I was 182 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,320 Speaker 4: extremely encouraged. Did you get a chance to see a 183 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,439 Speaker 4: slider today? His slider was an elite pitch as well 184 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 4: as the splitty. I know, we talked about the fastball 185 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 4: splitty and a lot of people wonder did he have 186 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 4: enough repertoire to do it at the big, bigue level. 187 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 4: But today there was a slider that was I mean, 188 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 4: lights out. Have you heard anything on that projection or progress. 189 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, he's been working on that and Cam you guys 190 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:26,559 Speaker 1: know this, He's going to need a third pitch and 191 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: the slider. If it can be that for him, my goodness, 192 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: then it becomes a little bit different of a pitcher 193 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: than he was in Japan, and it makes a huge difference, 194 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: especially in the Major League. So yes, that was something 195 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: very notable out of his start today and I expect 196 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: that that's going to be something he works on developing 197 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: as the season goes on and his career goes on. 198 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 2: Ken let's finish with this on the topic of Rokie Sasaki. 199 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 2: We went over your article from a couple of days 200 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 2: ago about the recruiting process. It got some pretty play 201 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 2: in a number of spots, including obviously some fans, being like, 202 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,199 Speaker 2: we already know about this. I encouraged him to read 203 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 2: the article. There's a lot more detail. 204 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 3: That we didn't know about. 205 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 2: I didn't even know about Densu, and I'm a business guy. 206 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 2: I love learning about business and marketing, so I thought 207 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 2: that was fascinating. Can you give us a little insight 208 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,680 Speaker 2: on basically all of the work that you put together 209 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 2: to give us more on this process and how the 210 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,959 Speaker 2: tone was from executives that you spoke to who lost 211 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 2: out on Roki. 212 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: There were a number of executives who were very upset, 213 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: and they were upset because in their mind, the process 214 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: was predetermined that Densu, this incredibly large marketing company, an 215 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: advertising agency in Japan, most powerful corporation arguably in Japan, 216 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:49,319 Speaker 1: played a role here. They are not his contract negotiator. 217 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: That was Joel Wolf of Wasserman who did that, but 218 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: they were involved working with Wolf and a guy named 219 00:10:55,160 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: Tomoki Sakai was his direct marketing representative. So it ended 220 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: up the process did the way so many of us 221 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: expected it to end up with the Dodgers getting him. 222 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: But what the teams were saying is that they were 223 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: led to believe it was going to be an open 224 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: thing and they'd each get their shot, and the teams 225 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: generally felt that it was predetermined that it didn't turn 226 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: out to be the open process they thought it would be, 227 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: and that is where their frustration came in. Now, another 228 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 1: part of this is that Densu, if they're going to 229 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: take more of an active role with Japanese players going forward, 230 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: and teams feel this way, they also represent Yamamoto. So 231 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: if that's the case, teams are going to have to 232 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: learn to deal with this and figure out just how 233 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 1: to go about it. It's an interesting dynamic that was 234 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,319 Speaker 1: taking place here because the American agent Joel Wolf wasn't 235 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: seemingly the mover and shaker here. It was Densu represented 236 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,960 Speaker 1: by Sakai, and that is what made it so interesting. 237 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: And for fans who say they knew all of this already, 238 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: well God bless them, because I didn't know any of 239 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:02,560 Speaker 1: it until I started working on it. 240 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 3: Yeah, I thought it was fascinating. I'm with you. 241 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 2: So my follow up here twofold one is I felt 242 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:15,080 Speaker 2: like the words from Joel Wolf about what he was 243 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 2: looking for made more sense now because he was not 244 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 2: necessarily the one that was making decisions or as involved 245 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 2: as he was for Yamamoto, who as actually seeking player 246 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:29,440 Speaker 2: contract money versus Sasaki kind of surveying the field. To me, 247 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,079 Speaker 2: your article made it make sense for me that the 248 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 2: Blue Jays were involved because Densu could have had this 249 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 2: double header matchup every night for their media rights with 250 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 2: the Blue Jays playing and then even when Suzaki wasn't pitching, 251 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:44,320 Speaker 2: and then the Dodgers a night for Japanese fans to follow. So, 252 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:47,320 Speaker 2: I guess my question to you is do you feel 253 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 2: like there was any cry baby ness to executives being 254 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 2: upset because technically the rules were followed, any team could 255 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 2: have also been in play for some of these other 256 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 2: Japanese players that would have helped the recruiting process. And 257 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 2: this is the system that you know for the executives 258 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,439 Speaker 2: your owners have created. Rookie Sasaki comes over here and 259 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 2: essentially gets to pick the team that you know he 260 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 2: wants to be a part of without the money being 261 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 2: much of a difference. He's going to join a team 262 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 2: that's already got a lot of, you know, the pieces 263 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 2: in place for him to thrive both on the field 264 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 2: and with marketing deals. 265 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 1: Scott, it's a great point. And there's a line in 266 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: the article. I can't remember exactly what I wrote, but 267 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: I basically asked, is this simply a case where they 268 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 1: have a legitimate complaint or is this simply a case 269 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: of Dodger envy and sour grapes for the most part, 270 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: And yeah, there is an element to that. And listen, 271 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 1: the losers in a free agent process are always, well, 272 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: not always, but almost always going to be upset if 273 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: it doesn't go their way. So yes, there's no question 274 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: that that was part of it. And I quoted an 275 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 1: executive from a losing bidder in the article as saying, 276 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: what is his most logical choice? Sasaki, it's the Dodgers. 277 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: We all know that, So sure, there's definitely that. Now, 278 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: Toronto being involved did wrankle a lot of people involved 279 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: in the process because they felt Toronto was not a 280 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: team with a history of success. This is something Joel 281 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: Wolf said that they wanted a team with the history 282 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 1: of success and a team known within the game for 283 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,679 Speaker 1: pitching development. The Jays do a decent job at the 284 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: major league level pitching development, which is where Sassaki would 285 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: have been. But they're not the Dodgers, and they're not 286 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: some other teams as well. And I know the Dodgers 287 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: guys get hurt, but generally their reputation in the game 288 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: is very good for pitching development. So Scott sure, there 289 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: is definitely an element of sour grapes here, and that's 290 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: what made the article a little bit tricky to do, 291 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: because for all the conspiracy theories that might be out 292 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: there and all the things that might be wrong, it 293 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: was Sasaki's choice and he did get the right to 294 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: do whatever he wants, and in the end, he chose 295 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: a team that a lot of people figured he would 296 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: choose in the first place. 297 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, and I give credit to the Blue Jays, by 298 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 3: the way. 299 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:56,920 Speaker 2: I know they've taken a lot of flack over the 300 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 2: years for going after certain players, but at least they 301 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 2: are going out after them, even if they should be 302 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 2: offering higher bids to certain players to actually win the 303 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 2: player over. In this case, I'm thinking, what did you 304 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 2: want them to do, just give in. I mean, should 305 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 2: every executive just say, let's not even try. You just 306 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 2: don't know. I mean I felt the same way most 307 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 2: of us felt. He was going to be a Dodger. 308 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 3: But you gotta try, right. 309 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: The beef the executives had was that they were a finalist. 310 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: No one expected them to be a finalist, and that's 311 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: of course how they ended up in the process, right 312 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: at the end, with the Padres and the Dodgers. Now, 313 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: the one other thing here, if you remember, Joel Wolf 314 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 1: at the winter meeting said and kind of raised curiosity 315 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: throughout the game when he said, Hey, Sosaki might prefer 316 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: a lower media market, a smaller media market. It might 317 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: just be more to his personality. If that was the case, 318 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: then the Padres made a whole lot of sense, even 319 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 1: with their ownership turmoil. And of course he didn't choose 320 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: the Padres. 321 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 3: He chose the Dodgers. 322 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, and hey, Joel's been a great agent for a 323 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 2: long time. He reps many players. He did the Amamotive deal. 324 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 2: But that line and the story about him not being 325 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 2: able to talk much in meetings really said a lot 326 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 2: and told me to not mind all his comments maybe 327 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 2: just because he didn't know what was going on, you know, 328 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 2: and that's okay. 329 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: The argument was by those executives that Joel Wolf did 330 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: not control the process, and they thought perhaps that he would. 331 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 3: Mm hmm, Well it's an awesome article. 332 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 4: They helped to control the process, right, that's what they wanted. 333 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 2: So there's no rules on who's allowed to help in 334 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 2: the process, in the decision making process. It's not like, oh, 335 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 2: it has to be his player rep. I mean, this 336 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 2: is absolutely another country. So I thought it was cool. 337 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 2: I loved learning more about the process. Ken, thank you 338 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 2: appreciate it, and we'll talk to you later this week. 339 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 2: Thanks guys, and fair Territory of course from Monday is 340 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 2: great and obviously encourage you to check it out. Almost 341 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 2: everything in there obviously is still covering topics that are 342 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 2: super relevant. And then Thursday you'll get Alana and Ken 343 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 2: and they can give you more on the Tokyo series 344 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 2: and all of the fanfare that came out of that series. 345 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,480 Speaker 2: I was really really fun to follow, especially if you 346 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:04,880 Speaker 2: had your early morning coffee and check that out.